Double D
I arrived at the party with Ed and Eddy at precisely 7:55 p.m. much to Eddy's dismay and grumblings. I told him that if he wanted to be late he would have to drive his own car, but he would rather mooch off my gas and kindness.
When we walked into the house there were only a few other people there. Ed saw the refreshment table and quickly made his way in that direction.
"I guess it's just you and I, Eddy."
"Think again Sock head, there are some pretty hot babes here already. I'm gonna go get laid. Catch ya later!" And just like that I was standing alone in Kevin's living room. Before I could count to three, groups of people started flooding through the door. I had a red cup full of some alcoholic beverage shoved into my hands and I was soon meshed in between a bunch of people grinding against each other.
Needless to say I quickly vacated the living room. 'I wonder if Marie is here yet,' I thought to myself as I scanned the crowd looking for her.
"Well well well, am I really seeing this? Double Dork? Is that really you?" I turned around to see Kevin behind me, with Nazz hanging all over him. "Greetings Kevin, it's a pleasure to see you as well. Very nice party that you have put together."
"Wow, never thought I would see the day when Double Dork came to a party. Damn. Now I've seen everything. Just try not to get any chicks knocked up. OK?" I blushed furiously at Kevin's last statement, "I assure you Kevin that I will not be engaging in any form of sexual intercourse this evening."
"Drink enough of these," he tapped the cup in my hand, "and you'll be singing a different song my friend. Have fun dude, and try to loosen up a little." With that Kevin walked off towards a big group of people in the kitchen with Nazz still hanging on him like a necklace.
I shook my head and sighed, 'This Eddward is why you don't come to these ridiculous parties.' I had changed my mind about staying and was turning toward the door to leave when someone came in, at first I thought it was some random girl that I had never met but then was that….was that Marie?!
I stood there and I know that my mouth was hanging open in awe. That angel couldn't be the same Marie that I had talked to only hours earlier. Could she? She was wearing a pair of black flats with a black dress that stopped just above her knees and showed just enough skin at the neck line to make your imagination go crazy. Her make-up was just a light dusting of silver eye shadow with blue eyeliner and dull red lipstick, and her hair was falling down her back in a curly half-up do. I didn't know what to do, so I continued to stand there staring at her with my mouth wide open.
She was scanning the room and when her eyes landed on me her face lit up. She pushed her way through the crowd over to where I was standing.
"Hey," She shouted to be heard over the music, "you might want to close your mouth before a bird decides to come build a nest in it or something." I quickly shut my mouth and began to blush furiously, "My apologies Marie, I didn't mean to stare. I was simply taken aback by your beauty is all." Marie laughed, "It's ok Double D. I know I'm hot. One can't help but stare." I smiled a little still blushing.
"Hey why don't we go somewhere we can talk." I nodded my head and we started to make our way to the back door. We slipped outside and stood on Kevin's deck. There was a boy and a girl making out on the picnic table on the lawn and few others who were drunk sprawled out on the grass.
"Well this is nice huh?" Marie questioned sarcastically.
"Yes I would have to agree, I especially love the lawn ornaments. Who would've thought that drunks make the best décor?" I responded equally sarcastic. Marie smirked, "Well it looks like someone finally has a sense of humor."
"A lot of things have changed since the last time we talked." Marie smiled wistfully like she was remembering something. "Right those couple hours sure can change a person."
"I was referring to the 8 year silence."
"I knew what you meant Double D I was being sarcastic." I gulped this was not going as well as I had planned. "Sorry I just-"
"You think too much," Marie interrupted, "do you want to sit down or something?" I nodded, "Yes that's a good idea let's sit down." We walked over to a couple of folding chairs that were set up on the deck and sat down.
"So what have you been up to these past couple years?" Marie asked. I shrugged, "Oh not much really, I graduated high school valedictorian, highest honors etc. I moved out of my parents' house, got this great job at radio shack, bought a car, moved into an apartment with Ed and Eddy, and started going to community college. How about you? Anything interesting happen to you?"
"I graduated high school, on the honor roll, my sisters my mom and I moved into a house, and I started working at the clothing store in the mall. Nothing to fabulous or anything."
"Well congratulations on the house."
"Thanks." We sat there in an awkward silence for a minute, "So how's your love life?" I was a bit shocked at the nonchalance that Marie posed the question with, regardless I answered, "Well, I dated Sarah for a little while in my junior year of high school. Nazz and I dated very briefly in between one of her and Kevin's separation periods, and that's about it I have been single pretty much the rest of the time. How about you? Do you have a significant other?"
"No. I dated a few guys in high school but they were all dead beat assholes. I'm as single as a pringle and I have been since my last relationship in high school."
"How old are you now Marie?" She made a funny face at me but answered my question, "21, I was only 13 when the great silence commenced." I nodded, "That's what I thought." We were once again plagued by silence. I wasn't sure what to say, we were starting to tread into the rough waters of the past, and I'm not sure that I'm ready for that yet.
"Why did you do it?"
"I beg your pardon?" Marie reiterated her question, "Why did you do it Double D? Why did you say all those horrible things to us?" apparently it was time to stir the waters, "I don't know Marie, I was young. I was only 13 years old. I didn't appreciate people invading my personal space. I freaked out! I didn't properly know how to handle the situation. I'm sorry."
"You must have meant even some of what you said Double D. I'm not that smart but I do know that when you are mad you say things that you feel that you wouldn't say normally." Marie looked at me and I could see the pain in her eyes, "So is that how you really felt about me and my sisters? Were we really all the things you said that we were?"
"Marie, I-"
"Don't lie to me Edd is that really how you felt about us?" I faltered, "Yes. That is really how I felt about you and your sisters then." Marie sighed, "Were we really that horrible? Tell me the God honest truth Eddward or I swear I will kill you." I smiled a little bit, that was the Marie Kanker that I knew.
"Yes you were, at least from my perspective. Mostly likely Eddy and Ed felt the same way. I feel the main reasons for my feelings towards you and your sisters is that you smothered us, and I personally didn't like physical contact. And that you personally made it your life goal to harass me and force your affections on me. It was a very traumatic experience for a 13 year old boy I can assure you." Marie looked at her hands that were resting in her lap. "Marie? I didn't hurt your feelings did I?"
"No Edd," Marie lightly chuckled, "It's just that, well…never mind it's not important anyways."
"No please tell me what's on your mind?" Marie sighed, "Well it's just that, my sisters and I smothered you and your friends with affection and I feel like I need to justify my actions. I don't mean that to sound like what we did was ok I just want to explain myself more or less." She looked at me like she wanted my permission to continue. I gestured at her in a manner that urged her to continue.
"Well ok so you know that me and my sisters all have different dads right?" I nodded, she went on, "so Lee being the oldest and all was looked up to by me and May. So that pretty much meant that whatever she thought was a good idea May and I just kinda went along with. So at the school we went to before we moved to the trailer park in Peach Creek we got bullied, a lot. Lee was always getting picked on because she had bad teeth, May was always getting picked on because she had buck teeth and a lisp, and me, I was always getting picked on because…well because…"
"Marie you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I placed a comforting hand on her arm. It sent an electric current up my arm from where we touched but I ignored it. Stupid hormones.
"No I need to tell you. It's part of the healing trust process or whatever. So I got picked on because of my eye." I furrowed my brow in confusion, "I'm sorry, what's wrong with your eye?"
"Well, I have this, condition I guess you could call it. It's called heterochromia it makes my eyes two different colors." Realization suddenly dawned on me, "So wait, is that why you always used to wear your hair in front of your eye?" Marie nodded, "Yeah it kept my freak eye hidden from everyone."
"But your eyes are both the same color now. What changed?"
"Well actually they aren't the same. One of them is blue and one of them is brownish hazel or whatever. You just can't tell because I'm wearing colored contacts."
"Oh I see. So you wear the colored contact in the eye that is blue because it's harder to wear colored contacts in brown eyes?"
"Yep, so both my eyes look brown but one of them is actually blue. But anyways so we used to get bullied every day. Finally mom had had enough of us coming home crying so we moved to the Park n flush. Then we met you Ed's and Lee just kinda went crazy, telling me and May that we needed to conquer your emotions before you could turn on us. She filled our heads with all sorts of crazy ideas and thoughts about men in general. I don't know I think it was mostly because her bullies were boys so she wanted revenge in a roundabout way. Like her subconscious was projecting her pent up emotions towards you guys without her even realizing it. Well anyways you pretty much know the rest. I just feel like my actions were instigated by Lee until I got to a point where it was more like a habit. So I guess I'm just crazy is all." She stopped talking and looked down at her arm where my hand was still resting.
"Marie, you aren't crazy. You were just confused. You didn't have the influence and comfort of a father figure in your life to guide you. So as a result of that you looked up to Lee and she misguided you. Not by any real fault of her own, because she was just as confused as you were. I don't blame you for the things that you did when we were kids."
"I just wish I could go back in time and fix things. Fix my first impression towards you so that maybe my crush could be more than a crush and-"Her hands flew to her mouth but it was too late, I already heard it. "What crush? The crush you had on me? I thought that was just a projection of your hatred of men. Was that real?" Marie shook her head vigorously like she could make the words disappear. "Marie do you still have a crush on me?"
"Even if I did it wouldn't matter," She quickly stood from her chair and gestured at herself, "I mean look at me! I'm no prize like Nazz or some other pretty girl. I'm just the trailer trash from the past! It doesn't matter how I feel because you are smart and funny and adorable and so many good things and…well to be perfectly honest I'm not the type of girl you would ever end up with. You're much too perfect to be with someone like me."
"Someone like you? Marie what do you mean? I think-"
"You know what, I don't even want to hear it. I'm not exactly sure why I have such ridiculous hopes in these kind of situations. I'm going home, I don't even know why I came." She turned and stormed into the house.
"Marie come back!" I followed her into the house and managed to grab her wrist before she disappeared into the crowd.
"Let go of me Edd." She said through gritted teeth.
"Marie I'm not entirely sure what you think of yourself now or why you don't think you're good enough to date me. What did I do to put those misconceptions into your head?" Marie shook her head and sighed, "It doesn't matter, I just want to go home. Let go of me Edd I can't- I just can't." I saw a tear slip out of her eye and slide down her cheek.
"Marie, please we should talk about this, about us-"
"Us? Us? There is no us Edd, and there never will be. You know why that is? Because you and I are too different. You're too good and I'm not. Now let me go or I will hurt you."
"Marie, please, can we just talk? I know that we could come to a reasonable and logical conclusion if we just-"I was interrupted by her hand colliding with my cheek.
"I'm done talking Edd, goodbye." And with that she disappeared into the crowd of people, leaving me standing there holding my stinging cheek, staring after her. 'I just wish I could go back in time and fix things. Fix my first impression towards you so that maybe my crush could be more than a crush.' Could she really still have I crush on me? After all this time? After the things I said? 'I'm not too good for you Marie, I think you're too good for me.' Judging by the pain in my chest my old crush had just been reignited. I have a crush on Marie Kanker, just like I did 8 years ago. 'Some things never change Eddward.'
Marie
I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I mean what the literal fuck Marie? What did you think that you could just go to that party looking like a hottie and just seduce your way into Edd's good graces and affection? What the hell were you thinking? God this is what happens when I let my heart take control of my body.
I was walking toward home. I didn't want to bother Lee or mom while they were at work or sleeping. It was hard to tell which one would be doing what right now, I don't even know what time it is. Regardless I just wanted to be alone. So I walked on in complete silence continually reminding myself how stupid I was.
Suddenly I looked around and realized that I didn't know where I was. "Hey there pretty lady." A guy stepped out of the shadows in front of me, "How you doing?" I scoffed and kept walking, what a deadbeat.
"Hey I'm talking to you," He said and grabbed my wrist.
"Back off douchepants!" I yelled and tried to break free from his grip. He chuckled and shoved me up against a wall.
"Hey let go of me you creep!" The man laughed and started forcefully kissing me while I was pinned against the wall. I fought but it was no use the man was too strong . I started to feel helpless and I cried.